Backyard Buddy Four Post Lift

A Four-Poster Fit For A Queen

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by Phil Berg
Monday, July 10, 2006

Backyard Buddy sells a robust free-standing lift that it claims will move with the car during an earthquake if your special ride’s domicile is on the shaky coast. The 7000-pound capacity four-post Standard model lifted our test car from floor level to 63-inches high in just 45 seconds using a 240-volt power supply. A 120-volt version is available, but it’s slower, less efficient.

We borrowed a Backyard Buddy lift for just a couple weeks to test it out, then had it picked up by the Backyard Buddy folks’ special trailer for its trip back to the Ohio home of Backyard Buddy and then on to car shows. Our lift has a fixed power module, but an optional wheeled version means you can roll the motor away, leaving your car secure from theft until you reconnect the power module. The module consists of an electric motor and a hydraulic pump. Plug it in and connect the hydraulic line with a quick-disconnect fitting, and the lift is operational.

Under the wide tread plates which are reinforced with angle iron are two hydraulic cylinders that pull steel cables to raise the tread platform. Stout pulleys guide the cables, which are anchored at the tops of the four-inch structural square tube posts. The platform guides surround the posts, which have holes for position locks cut into the steel. The lock pawls spring into these small square holes to keep the tread platform at ten different heights, from eight inches to 63 inches. That means you can adjust the height of your car so you can comfortably use a creeper chair while you work.

What we like best are the optional drip pans, to keep fluids off the car that gets parked underneath the lift, as well as a rolling jack platform that allows you to remove a wheel or suspension components even with your car raised on the lift. Finally, an optional oil change drain container on casters will make this task a cinch.